Actually I have had many experiences with Fun Services!! Unlike the posts from above I was very pleased with the quality and selection of prizes Fun Services had to offer. Our school was thinking about creating our own games based off the games they had to offer, it was an undertaking not worth the time and effort. Especially since they provide the game and a carnival booth for free if you used a certain amount of prizes. The amount of prizes they wanted us to use for us to get the games and booths for free seemed very reasonal, especially for the quality. Also, the games were of a high quality. They also had a Fun Services representative at our event for the entire time. Just thought I would pass along my experiences.
I just spoke to Oriental Trading Company. There' a special nonprofit 800 number to help with carnivals (1-800-527-7400). I was told that I could use any special code when I order through that line. So if I get another 20% off code, I can use it through them. Otherwise the discount system is 5% of orders over $599, 10% off $1000 and 15% off $1499. I tell them the date of my event. Then we have 30 days after the event date to return unused items. We pay return shipping and have to return whole sets (ie all 12 of toys sold by the dozen). They said it helps groups order with more confidence knowing that they aren't stuck with it all if no one liked or used the items.
I went to the OTC web site and OMG! WOW!! THey defenitly have much nicer prizes on the lower end. Many of the prizes the kids won were broken or ready to break! Now (I forgot about this) the Spring Fling, we had a small game and we gave out candy. HUGE hit and the Prez was glad she did that once she saw the prizes.
Now a couple years ago a teacher's husband worked for Best Buy, they had tons of crazy little toys that she gave away. Little skateboards, trick bikes, that kind of stuff. Worth checking out!
Yeah, I was concerned about the prizes. I saw what they had and it wasn't great. There were much better things available through the Oriental Trading Company catalog. I expressed concern about that and they said I could make requests. The big prizes seemed good but the lower level ones didn't catch my eye.
The only complaint I heard was from teachers the following week. They were not impressed with the quality of the prizes the kids were getting and the BASE program was charging to get in AND for tickets, many parents were upset about that too. Oh yeah and the price of food was crazy! I mean $5 for a burger...that's it a burger! The dunk tank was the biggest hit!
